Deciding what to do with a deteriorated Shore house
Should owner tear it down and rebuild, or sell it as is?
DEAR HARRY: I own an old house at the Jersey Shore that is barely in livable condition. This year was the death knell. Storm damage and vandalism in August did the job. I'm thinking of tearing it down and rebuilding it as a two-story house that I can sell as either two separate parts of a condo or as an investment property. But I am not involved in real estate (this property was inherited five years ago) or construction. How can I go about seeing if this would be a good deal as opposed to selling it as is? I'm able to do this with no outside financing. I need some guidance. Help!
WHAT HARRY SAYS: Your first step should be to find out its present value. You can get several real-estate brokers to estimate what it can bring. Getting to the alternative of construction is a tougher job. Lay out a rough design of what you anticipate. Then approach several builders in the area to give you an estimate of cost to design and build. Finding a price for the completed building is not going to be easy. It may take some effort first to find comparable properties and then to get the sales prices from the county records. A CPA can make sure you're not missing anything. Finally, in making your comparison, consider that an immediate sale will entail less effort both mentally and physically.
Email Harry Gross at harrygrossDN@gmail.com, or
write to him at Daily News, 801 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Harry urges all his readers to give blood. Contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-Red Cross.